Well, it seems that everyone’s making a bunch of noise that another inspirational Oprah story has proven to be less than truthful.  Last time it was author James Frey, whose "memoir" A Million Little Pieces turned out to be more fiction than fact.  This time, it’s Herman Rosenblat, a 79-year-old concentration camp survivor.  Apparently he had a great story about meeting his wife when they were both in the camps, and she would throw apples to him over the fence - a very sweet and haunting story of love amidst the ultimate adversity.  It turns out there was no apple tossing, but they still did meet in and survive a concentration camp.  But apparently, Oprah is "disappointed."  And you know you don’t want to disappoint Oprah.  That’s like disappointing Don Corleone… only with a fancy TV set.  Personally… I don’t particularly care about how Oprah feels.  But I’m sure she’ll continue to make us care.  After the truth came out about Frey, she had him back on the show and proceeded to berate him for an hour.  But somehow, I don’t think she’s going to come out looking like the good guy if she ends up bitching out a 79-year-old holocaust survivor… ya know?  Part of me hopes she tries it.  Maybe then we can knock her down from deity status.  Either that, or she’ll actually end up villifying a man who survived horrors than none of us could ever imagine.  Ah, Oprah, I’m disappointed.

Well… today in the news there are articles about salmonella tainted peanut butter, imported Australian honeybees with some sort of parasite that has scientists worried, and North Korea claiming to have weaponized plutonium.  And of course, on top of all of this, is the insane economy crap.

Earth isn’t looking so good lately.

Ya know, I wonder if the current climate of total worldwide crapitude has led to more or fewer UFO sightings.  You know, as an extra terrestrial, do you look at this and say, "Wow… there’s going to be some real estate opening up there soon!  And you know it’s gonna be cheap!" or do you say, "Dude… they have REALLY screwed that place up.  I’m not touching that with a 4.73 light year glaxnar (that’s the galactic equivalent of a 10 foot pole)."

Me… I’m okay with the end of the world.  I mean, I probably can’t have much personal effect on the bees or the North Koreans or the peanut butter.  All I ask… is please let me finish my degrees first.  If I’m half way done with my dissertation and the world ends… I’m gonna be PISSED!

Some of the machines at my gym have little personal TVs on them, so you can flip through dozens of channels of crap as you try to distract yourself from the sweating and heavy breathing.  One of the channels I tend to stop on is AMC - American Movie Classics.  But every now and again, I have to wonder how a particular movie made the cut.  A couple weeks ago, I came across Gremlins 2: The New Batch.  Now, my brothers and I got a good laugh out of that movie back in the day… but it is by no means a classic… or even good.  But today really made me wonder.  You remember that flight attendant movie Gwyneth Paltrow made a few years ago?  I’m not even sure what it’s called, and I don’t care enough to google it.  Well… THAT somehow made it to American Movie Classics… and I am now officially going to have to demand that AMC change its name.  I mean, I’m sorry.  Gwyneth Paltrow prancing around in her platinum hair and short skirts in a movie that would have embarrassed Romy and Michelle does not a classic make.  AMC - I’m revoking your classic status.

About two months ago, I pointed out a small (read: gigantic) problem to my graduate adviser: All the classes for my degree track this semester were scheduled in direct conflict with the classes that we’re eligible to TA for… TAing being the thing that makes it possible for me and one of my classmates to afford the program.  Well… they moved one of the classes, which cleared the way for my classmate’s TA assignment.  But there was still a conflict for me.  But they assured me (when I pointed out a week ago that this had still not been remedied) that they were working to move one of the other classes, and not to worry.  So I met with the prof I TA for to plan for the semester, having been told it would all be fixed.

But yesterday - two days before the beginning of the semester - I received an email telling me they would not be moving any of the classes, and they’d be switching me to a TA assignment for a professor I’ve never met.  This would mean that I would not be able to attend one of the classes required for my program.  Of course, the class "might" be offered next semester, so I could try to take it then, and just take another class now (there are none in which I am remotely interested).  Or, I can take this highly discussion based class as an independent study.  So, I’m stuck with "the fuzzy end of the lollipop," as one of my professors put it.

Me, I think it’s bigger than a lollipop.  It’s more as if I have a metaphysical "Kick Me" sign permanently affixed to my aura, and the universe does its very best to follow directions every chance it gets.

So Monday - when the rest of my classmates are beginning a class on critical theory, I’ll be TAing for a class for which I haven’t even seen a syllabus or met the professor or found the classroom… all I know is that it has 100 students.

So far, 2009 can kiss my ass.

Tonight I watched my latest Netflix delivery: Iron Jawed Angels.  Hilary Swank, Anjelica Huston, Patrick Dempsey… it’s about the last years of women’s suffrage and the extraordinary efforts of the suffragists.  It was unreal.  Though it was certainly dramatized, the power of the story cannot be denied.  To watch these women marching and being taunted and beaten and imprisoned and force fed - all so that I could wear that silly little "I voted" sticker.  It’s such a given, isn’t it?  Of course women can vote.  Why wouldn’t they?  Most people alive today have never lived in - or certainly don’t remember - a time when women couldn’t vote.  Perhaps that’s why we’ve become so complacent about it.  I’ve always had a sort of excitement about voting… but after seeing this movie, I’m just reminded of the fact that it’s not just a right, it’s a responsiblity - to them, to ourselves, to each other.  How can we think about how people suffered and fought and demanded this privilege, and then say "Oh, my vote doesn’t count."  Maybe your vote won’t tip your state’s electoral count.  Maybe it won’t be the one that passes or doesn’t pass the amendment.  But how can anyone look at what people went through - in the American Revolution, in the Black suffrage movement, in the Women’s suffrage movement - and say, "nah… I’ll just sit this one out."  I’m getting preachy and soapbox-y, I know.  But I can’t help it.  I am always moved by the power and passion of a group of people coming together for something they believe in.  And this movie was such a stirring account of that.  And it was very interestingly done, too.  The music and cinematography were distinctly modern.  It was as if we were diliberately told not to sit back and watch this historic piece about 100 years ago.  Instead it was demanded that we hear the story through today’s filter, as part of today’s world.

And boy howdy… it worked.